First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give First Financial Bancorp a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (4 buys, 4 holds) with an average 1‑year price target of about $31.17.
• Q1 results beat expectations (EPS $0.77 vs. $0.70 consensus; revenue $265.3M vs. ~$258M), showed healthy margins and profitability, and management authorized a 5 million‑share repurchase plan after closing the BankFinancial acquisition.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — 32,141 shares sold (~$969K) over the last three months — while institutional investors own roughly 77.23% of the stock and insiders hold about 1.13%.

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.1667.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $53,592.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,744.33. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Karen B. Woods sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.28, for a total transaction of $302,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 63,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,936,527.12. This trade represents a 13.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,141 shares of company stock worth $969,429. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key First Financial Bancorp. News

Here are the key news stories impacting First Financial Bancorp. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — FFBC reported adjusted EPS of $0.77 vs. consensus ~$0.70 and revenue of $265.3M, topping forecasts; that surprise is the primary driver behind the stock’s move higher. PR Newswire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Margin and profitability metrics look solid — reported FTE net interest margin ~3.99%, ROTCE 17.8% (19.2% adjusted) and ROA ~1.34% (adjusted 1.45%), signaling healthy core earnings power. PR Newswire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a 5 million-share repurchase plan — a direct capital-return action that typically supports the stock and signals confidence from management. PR Newswire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic inorganic growth — the BankFinancial acquisition closed Jan. 1, 2026, contributing to revenue and scale; investors likely see this as a growth/efficiency catalyst. PR Newswire Q1 Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and commentary framed the quarter as bullish — several outlets summarized the beat and metrics, reinforcing the market reaction without new forward guidance. Yahoo Finance: Bullish Q1
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary available — the earnings call transcript provides more color on credit, margins and capital deployment for investors wanting detail. Seeking Alpha Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Capital uses could tighten flexibility — management redeemed $150M of subordinated debt and authorized buybacks; while positive for returns, these moves use capital and may limit flexibility if deposit/loan dynamics shift. PR Newswire Q1 Release

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC opened at $30.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $22.55 and a 52-week high of $31.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.75. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.94.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $265.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.97 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.92% and a return on equity of 11.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 35.34%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp NASDAQ: FFBC is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank's product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.

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